It's been a long time coming..

The dilemma to pick a destination for my first post was grinding, and I zeroed down on a country which (despite my reservations as to whether it will leave me impressed) left me yearning for more. That country is Israel, which I visited in December 2012. 

It doesn't need mentioning that Israel is rich in history, and this is where my scepticism before the trip had set in. I thought I liked historical places, but never really loved them. The reason being I just don't seem to remember facts. Historical dates and events are to my brain what water is to plastic - they slip off easily. But Israel changed this. To be honest, I did a bit of reading up on the country, on Jerusalem, and on the nation's history before I went, and it helped a lot. I was able to truly appreciate the significance of The Dome of the Rock, the timeline of Jerusalem, the perceived importance of the Mount of Olives, etc. To put it in short, I completely loved Israel.

We (my friend and I) landed at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv (the arrivals area looks like the interior of a huge museum) and it being Friday evening (Shabbat), the train to the city wasn't running. We took a cab to our hotel and spent the evening in Tel Aviv (more about the city later). 

The next day we did a day trip to the Dead Sea (the lowest point on the surface of the earth, and the only water body of its size where you can float easily due to its high salinity) and Masada. 

Masada is famous fortification on the top of a hill built by Herod the Great and overlooking the Dead Sea. The Siege of Masada in the 1st century AD by Roman troops (you can still see Roman camp outlines in the sand around the hill) ended in a mass suicide of the zealots who had holed themselves up in the palace above.

The view of the Negev desert from Masada is stunning, to say the least. So is the view of the Jordanian mountains from the Israeli side of the Dead Sea.

Floating in the Dead Sea, with Jordanian mountains in the background

Masada

The outlines of camps set up by the Romans, who lay siege on Masada

The view from the hill of Masada was breathtaking

The next day we visited Golan Heights - a mountainous area on the north-eastern part of the country which was captured from Syria in the 6-day war in 1967. The tour guide drove us along the Syrian and Jordanian borders. We also visited a couple of kibbutz (collective community settlements) on the way, and also got to see the Sea of Galilee, on the waters of which Jesus walked. :)

In Golan Heights

The next two days were the highlight of the trip - Jerusalem. The old city is absolutely stunning. To make it simpler to read, I will list down what we did in Jerusalem in bullet points. 

• Walked around the four quarters which comprise the Old City - Armenian, Christian, Arab and Jewish
• Wore a kippah and prayed at the Western Wall (of the Second Temple) - the holiest site in the world for Jews
• Went on to the Temple Mount to see the Dome of the Rock and the Al Aqsa mosque (both from the outside). The Dome of the Rock is from where Mohammed ascended to heaven, and the Al Aqsa Mosque is the third holiest site in Islam (after Mecca and Medina). 
• Saw the Church of the Holy Sepulchre from the inside. This is the place where Jesus was crucified and then buried
• Walked the Via Dolorosa - the road on which Jesus (bearing the cross) was made to walk, and where he fell a number of times
• Saw the place (apparently) where the Last Supper was held
• Saw the Mount of Olives from a distance - the place where the Messiah will first land and resurrect all the dead buried there
• Went to the Shrine of the Book to see the Dead Sea scrolls
• Walked within the Old City and along the outside wall at night, the entire place brilliantly lit, specially the Western Wall and the Dome of the Rock

The atmosphere in the Old City was so absorbing, and so surreal. Jews, Arabs, Christians - all milling about in the place that is probably one of the most important to them and their religions. 

The Dome of the Rock

People praying at the Western Wall

There is just so much to see and experience in Jerusalem that a one or two day trip is just not enough.

The next day we crossed over into the West Bank to see Bethlehem - the place of birth of Jesus. We rented a cab for 3-4 hours, and the cab driver took us to a few important places in and around Bethlehem. We visited Church of the Nativity, the Herodian and the (infamous) West Bank wall, which divides Israel and the West Bank. 

The West Bank wall

A few tips about Israel. First - please tip! If you don't, the waiters and bartenders will make sure you do. We went to an expensive restaurant on one of the nights we stayed at Tel Aviv. The bill was expensive, and though we tipped decently well if you considered the absolute amount of the tip, it as a % of the total bill was less. The waiter returned with the bill and unashamedly said - 'But sir, this tip is not even 10%!'. Well, we had no choice but to increase it. Then another time, we did not tip at the bar, and the bartender added the tip himself to the bill when we ordered the next round of drinks. It's the Israeli style I guess. If they are denied their due, they sure know how to get it. :-) The first time around, at the restaurant, I was boiling with anger after we left the restaurant. But when the incident happened at the bar, we took it lightly. It's their way, and I get it. At no point was the service bad though. 

Second - please realize the importance of Shabbat. The airport trains do not run from Friday evening till Saturday evening. Do not go around driving in the orthodox neighbourhoods during that time. (We did not do the latter, but it's best if you don't as well).

Third - be ready to be grilled while boarding a flight from Ben Gurion airport. And keep enough buffer in terms of time for it.

Fourth - don't be surprised if you rarely see police/security. We were surprised to find no sign of any armed police/troops in Tel Aviv.

Fifth - Israelis are very upfront, and their jokes/humour can be very raunchy, crude and upfront. 

Sixth - Do not carry any religious book (other than the Quran) on to the Temple Mount

View of the Temple Mount from the Mount of Olives

Overall, there is a reason I chose Israel as my first travel post. It's best to summarise it with what my team-mates jokingly tell me often - 'Manish, you came back a changed man from Israel'. I don't know why they say it, but maybe I did. :-)